Ayrshire Scotland Business News is provided by the Elite Ayrshire Business Circle, an association of some of the top companies in Ayrshire. We publicise our members, and celebrate and report the wealth and rich diversity of entrepreneurial and business excellence that abounds here in Ayrshire, south-west Scotland. For further information e-mail Murdoch@eliteayrshire.com

The Elite Ayrshire Business Circle

Thursday, 5 February 2009

£8m plans for Cumnock Regeneration get underway

THE regeneration of Cumnock town centre moved a giant step forward this week as the planning application for a new £8m office development was lodged with East Ayrshire Council.

[Pictured from left: Cllr Billy Crawford; Cllr Kathy Morrice; Cllr Douglas Reid; Christopher Ross, of Ross Electricals, a member of the Cumnock Town Centre Liaison Forum; Cllr Jim Buchanan; and Alan Neish, Head of Planning and Economic Development at East Ayrshire Council. CLICK ON ANY IMAGE TO VIEW / DOWNLOAD FULL-SIZE VERSION.]

The new office development is the first phase of the Cumnock Town Centre Regeneration Project which aims to revitalise the town centre and re-establish Cumnock as the principal town in the southern part of East Ayrshire. The Project aims to provide more jobs in the town centre, expand and enhance the available retail provision, enhance public realm and town centre environment, and implement an improved traffic management and parking strategy.

The development on Greenholm Road will provide quality, modern accommodation for East Ayrshire Council and partner agencies, to provide a range of services on a co-location basis. The Council have confirmed that approximately 150 employees will relocate to the new offices as part of a review of its existing office accommodation provision.

Services moving to the Greenholm Road development include planning and building standards, community planning, libraries, roads, registrars, housing, social work and Community Learning & Development. They will be vacating a number of substandard buildings at Lugar and elsewhere in Cumnock.

Councillor Douglas Reid, Leader of East Ayrshire Council said: “I am delighted to announce receipt of this planning application as it marks the start of an exciting period of regeneration and renewal for Cumnock Town Centre.

“When completed, the whole project will provide opportunities for shopping, education, leisure and recreation for the people of Cumnock and the surrounding communities. East Ayrshire Council is fully committed to the regeneration of Cumnock and the new office development is a key element of that.”

Councillor Jim Buchanan, Spokesperson for Environment & Regeneration added: ”This new office development will improve access to a number of local services, offering local people a one door approach in the heart of the local community. Following planning approval, construction could begin as early as summer 2009.

“We estimate that some 70 jobs will be created on the site throughout the construction period, giving the local economy a much needed boost. Approximately 30% will be local jobs employed by local sub-contractors or direct labour.”

The development is being delivered and managed as part of a joint venture partnership, with East Ayrshire Council having entered into a joint venture contract with Deanway Muir Ltd. Deanway Muir itself is the result of a partnership between Deanway Development and the Muir Group.

Alex Galbraith, a director of Deanway Muir Ltd said: “I am delighted that Deanway Muir is fulfilling the role of private sector partner to East Ayrshire Council in bringing forward the regeneration of Cumnock town centre. The planning application lodged this week is the first tangible step in that process and is a major milestone in bringing the project vision into reality.”

The joint venture company has appointed a full team of technical consultants, including architects, engineers and surveyors to develop the project. Davis Langdon is the appointed Project Manager.

Marion Gilliland, Chair of the Cumnock Town Centre Liaison Forum commented: “This is a very exciting time for Cumnock and the local business community. The new office development will bring much needed investment to the town and is a sign of a more positive future facing Cumnock.”

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THE EDITORThe Editor of Ayrshire Scotland Business News is Murdoch MacDonald, a graduate of Magdalene College, Cambridge University, where his journalistic contemporaries included John Simpson, now World Affairs Editor with the BBC, and Alan Rusbridger, Editor of the Guardian. Murdoch MacDonald has been in the public relations industry and a freelance journalist and broadcaster for more than 35 years.He has handled the PR accounts of many top Scottish companies, including Royal Bank of Scotland, Standard Life, John Menzies, Kwik-Fit and Barratt Homes.

He has hosted his own family finance programmes - "£s, Pence and Sense" on Radio Forth and "Moneywise" on Scottish Television.He now runs Ayrshire’s top PR consultancy Fame Publicity Services.

Wherever you are in the world, no other public relations consultancy, PR firm or publicity company can offer you a better or more cost-effective worldwide news distribution service, combined with search engine optimisation techniques that will drive customers and qualified sales leads to your company's website.

Murdoch MacDonald is also managing director of the Elite Ayrshire Business Circle, an association of some of the top companies in Ayrshire.Telephone: 01292 281498E-mail: Murdoch@eliteayrshire.com

Murdoch and his wife Lilian (pictured above) have written a book called "Phoenix in a Bottle", describing how they overcame alcoholism and are now, contrary to conventional wisdom, able to drink alcohol responsibly again. "Phoenix in a Bottle" is published by Melrose Books price £16.99 and is now available worldwide.Reviewing the book, eminent American addiction expert Dr Stanton Peele PhD commented:

“Phoenix in a Bottle is a modern version of The Days of Wine and Roses, and tells the true story of how two people who entered a period of desperate drinking stayed with one another in a close loving relationship, and emerged from their alcoholism able to drink responsibly again.

“Both a wonderful love story and a challenge to conventional wisdom about how people can recover from drinking problems, Phoenix in a Bottle gives people hope, and helps them to confront their own demons - alcohol or otherwise.”

And now "Phoenix in a Bottle" has been selected as a set text by a top American university.

“Phoenix in a Bottle” by Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald will now be required reading for all doctoral students in a psychology programme at Alliant International University in San Diego, California.

Alliant International University, headquartered in San Diego and San Francisco, California, was formed in 2001 by the merger of the California School of Professional Psychology (CSPP) and the United States International University. Alliant has 6 campuses throughout California and also runs programmes in Mexico City, Hong Kong and Tokyo. The California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant is one of the premier psychology schools in the US, and it counts roughly half the licensed clinical psychologists in California as its alumni.

Dr. Gary W. Lawson is Professor of Psychology at CSPP. He says: “I adopted Phoenix in a Bottle because the dilemma this couple struggled with and the questions they ask themselves are like so many others I have encountered in 35 years of clinical experience treating addictions.“However, nowhere in addiction literature have I seen these issues examined and explained as well as Lilian and Murdoch do in Phoenix in a Bottle.“I also recommend Phoenix in a Bottle to many of my patients as well.”

You can buy "Phoenix in a Bottle" by Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald online now direct from Amazon UK (click on book cover image below).